Of Sun and Snowbasin

It may not have been an ‘epic’ powder day, nor was anyone ‘shredding the gnar’ (at least not in our party) but this super sunny Saturday quickly turned into a fantastic family ski day! After a bit of a late start, Stef and Sawyer headed up to Snowbasin around 11am to hit Little Cat lift. It was decided that after an early nap for Talmage, he and I would head up the mountain and meet them for lunch. Talmage and I finally arrived at the resort around 1:30pm and it was full speed ahead from there.

Immediately upon arrival, Talmage was ready to play! He made some new friends quickly while roaming the outdoor picnic area at Earl’s Lodge.  We convinced Stef and Sawyer to take a quick break for the ever popular peanut butter and honey sandwiches, before plowing back up the hill, this time with Talmage in tow. I got to play awkward father photographer running up and down the slushy slope trying to capture the eventful outing on the ever trusty iPhone. 

Sawyer has become quite the skier, 100% due to his mother. I am however not entirely sure you can call putting a 16 month old Talmage on skis and ‘assisting/carrying’ them down the hill ‘skiing’ but now watching the just turned 4 year old Sawyer make it down the hill, and through the terrain park, unassisted, some learning must to taking place somewhere in those early years. We are now completely converted to the mantra: ‘It is never too early to put a kid on skis.’  Norwegians claim to be ‘born with skis on their feet’ so maybe that 2 year mission put a little extra Norwegian in my blood…but if it did my kids absolutely got a stronger dose of it than I didJ

Don’t hesitate to take kids skiing! It is a huge hassle and you are guaranteed to have moments where you absolutely question your sanity and whether this whole ordeal is really worth the effort…but it is!  When your 4 year old can proudly announce to friends, family, and even complete strangers that they “conquered the rainbow rail box in the terrain park all by themself,” you can smile as the proud parent who put up with the twenty thousand tantrums to get them to that elated level of confidence!

Oh, and how awesome is it that you can be skiing one moment and enjoying the sun in your front yard only a half hour later… Feeling blessed to be loving the outdoors in Utah!